Challenge Accepted! Dragon Slide Roars in Texas

A few weeks ago, we bemoaned American ingenuity when we found a clever way of getting from the top floors of a mall to the bottom at a mall in Shanghai. Well, it turns out that very same slide is already operational here in the United States (ok, so it isn’t all made up to look like a dragon, but still, it’s a curvy slide that goes from the third floor to the bottom – that’s awesome even if it’s not “dragon-ized”). It’s at La Gran Plaza de Fort Worth and according to president Michael T. Pariza, it is open to the general public (check out the video!), not just VIPs. Anyone else have this or a similar slide, or a better way of getting from floor to floor? Let us know via Twitter.

Successful Retailers Become Part of Their Community

As the old saying goes, scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours. If brick-and-mortar retailers want consumers in their communities to shop in their stores, it makes sense that the stores become part of and contribute in some ways to the community. That’s the message that Colliers International’s national director of retail services, USA, Anjee Solanki, recently told GlobeSt.com. In order to better take advantage of cross-shopping behaviors, or multiple types of stores visited in each trip, Solanki said retailers need to introduce their “brand into the grain of established communities,” by, for example, hosting free classes and creating loyalty. Retailers put “in the commitment by hosting these events and “provide value and illustrate their appreciation for the local community.”

Malls, Center Still Attract & Show Signs of Strength

Upstate New York is more often remembered for its scenic views and antiquing, but some areas are becoming centers of growth in the retail shopping mall business and it’s a trend that could be picking up steam across the country. The Utica Observer-Dispatch recently reported on cyclical trends that have older malls and shopping centers replaced by newer patterns, but still in a brick-and-mortar world. The National Retail Federation and the International Council of Shopping Centers both cited statistics that paint a positive outlook. While super-regional malls are destinations for shoppers and tourists, that leaves “the majority of shopping to be done at shopping centers. Shopping plazas have become the hub of the community,” said Jesse Tron, ICSC spokesman.

Thanks for Visiting DMM at RECON 2016

We’d like to thank everyone for taking the time to visit us at RECon 2016 last month in Las Vegas. It was great to reconnect with old friends and make new ones on the show floor. We enjoyed speaking with all of you about our Retail Trade Area products, created out of our strategic alliance with UberRetail’s mobile location data and the geospatial expertise and analysis of B.I. Spatial. If you didn’t get a chance to get a personal demonstration to see how we can provide metrics for actual visitor traffic to a mall, viewing HOT spots in the centers or linking demographic profiles to those visitors, contact us any time.